“I’ve been cleared,” Bynum told the Los Angeles Lakers. “I can start running next week, and then maybe start practicing in two or three weeks. But the most important thing is that the doctor cleared me.”

All of this is extremely good news for the Lakers, who have struggled to a 2-3 record in the preseason heading into tonight’s game against Utah.

The Lakers have struggled offensively without Bynum, relying too much on outside shots without him. They are shooting 42.1 percent from the field, 25 percent of 3-point shots and are being outscored by 3.6 points per game.

“I thought our offensive kind of stalled,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson told reporters after his team’s 99-94 loss to Utah Sunday night. “We didn’t have that rhythm and continuity that we like to have in our offense.”

Bynum’s return should balance out the team and open more of an inside game for them.

If he returns by Thanksgiving, it means he will miss about 15 games. It will be interesting to see if the Lakers can afford that much of an absence considering the West Division again should be extremely competitive this season. He averaged a career-best 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds while missing 15 games during the regular season.

The Lakers had the third-best record in the NBA last season with a 57-25 mark. That record enabled them to have a two-game lead over second-place Dallas in the West Division. And they had homecourt advantage over Boston in the NBA Finals.